1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains generally to the field of firearms and in particular relates to an improved resilient grip pad for attachment to the handle of a firearm, particularly a hand gun.
2. State of the Prior Art
Most hand guns have a metallic handle with two nonmetallic grips attached to opposite sides of the handle. The grips can be made from a variety of materials, most often of a hard rubber, but also plastic, bone, ivory, etc. The nonmetallic grips give the user's hand a more secure and comfortable grip on the weapon. They do not become slippery with perspiration as easily as a metallic surface and are more comfortable to hold in hot or cold climates.
In the case of automatic pistols, the pistol handle typically also holds a clip, the ammunition magazine which is inserted into the bottom of the handle and feeds ammunition rounds to a receiver chamber situated above the handle.
In an effort to conserve weight, always an important consideration in the design of hand guns, particularly for larger caliber weapons, the handle is constructed as an open frame, where the grips also serve to cover and close the openings in the handle. These openings provide access to the magazine and generally to the interior mechanism of the hand gun.
While normally the openings in the handle frame are covered by the grips, it is still possible for foreign matter, including moisture, dust, and other contaminants, to find passage underneath the edges of the grips into the handle and then into other parts of the gun. Such contamination of the gun mechanism is undesirable and detrimental to the long-term reliability and functioning of the weapon. Since hand guns used in the field are given rugged handling, sometimes under extremes of heat and cold, the joint between the hand grips and the frame may become less than secure. It is therefore desirable to improve upon existing hand grips and to provide hand grips adapted to make a more positive and more secure seal with the handle frame to better protect the interior mechanism of the weapon under adverse environmental circumstances.